Arkansas Cotton, Rice, Soy: Insecticide Seed Treatment Options

Cotton Stalk destruction deadline is April 15!!

Driving around the Delta we’ve seen several fields where cotton stalks are still standing. The deadline for stalk destruction is April 15. This helps with Boll Weevil Eradication and prevents issues with Pink Bollworm. If you or someone you know has not shredded stalks you need to get it done by April 15 to avoid issues.

Cotton Insecticide Seed Treatments

In the last few years we have been seeing the need for foliar thrips applications in cotton even though seed was treated with an Insecticide Seed Treatment (IST). Thrips resistance with Cruiser and building tolerance to imidacloprid (Gaucho) are making thrips control more problematic.

Our work the last few years indicate the best treatments are acephate treated seed on top of an imidacloprid seed treatment or in-furrow applications of acephate, imidacloprid, or aldicarb.

We are getting some calls on treating seed with acephate and based on our work it really helps maintain thrips control. While foliar applications may not be too expensive on the front end they can make secondary pests like aphids and particularly spider mites more of a problem.

Last year spider mites were a big problem for folks in NE Arkansas and the bootheel. Consider one of the options above to avoid foliar applications as much as possible.

Rice- Insecticide Seed Treatments

Insecticide seed treatments in rice are essential for Arkansas growers to maintain yield potential. In our studies when we compare the neonicotinoid seed treatments CruiserMaxx Rice and NipsIt Inside we have observed very little difference in efficacy between the two products. In other words, they both perform equally well. Particularly on grape colaspis. They provide control for rice water weevil too, but both do not provide control equal to that of Dermacor or Fortenza. However, Dermacor does not provide adequate control of grape colaspis.

Another thing to remember is that CruiserMaxx Rice and NipsIt Inside provide protection of the rice for about 28-35 days. Dermacor on the other hand, provides protection 60-70 days after planting or more with similar results observed for Fortenza.

Another difference is that CruiserMaxx and NipsIt provide protection for chinch bugs and aphids (not common pests) while Dermacor nor Fortenza provides protection against caterpillar pests such as fall armyworm and rice stem borer.

We have spent the last few years looking at combining insecticide treatments to enhance control of grape colaspis and rice water weevil. In rare cases we have seen some benefit to putting both CruiserMaxx and NipsIt Inside on the seed to improve control. But in most cases we do not. If you think about it, it just makes sense. Both provide control of the same pests at about the same level and the residual control is essentially the same.

Adding Dermacor or Fortenza to CruiserMaxx or NipsIt appears to give us early season control of grape colaspis and the longer residual control for rice water weevil, particularly when we go to permanent flood at 4 to 5 weeks after planting. This approach looks very promising for growers that have both grape colaspis and rice water weevil and based on 2018 data, may have some advantages for row rice if billbugs are a problem.

What will it cost to over treat seed that already has either NipsIt or CruiserMaxx on it? Currently Fortenza will cost around $7-8 for hybrid and $20-22 for conventional per acre. Dermacor is around $12.50 for hybrid and $25.00 for conventional. NipsIt and CruiserMaxx both cost around $10-12 for either hybrid and conventional.

For hybrid seed it would make more since to over treat with Fortenza which is a few dollars less than CruiserMaxx or NipsIt and provide better control of rice water weevil. Bottom line, we consistently see better control and higher yields when combining NipsIt or Cruiser with Dermacor or Fortenza, compared to CruiserMaxx with NipsIt, and we can do this at a similar price point.

Bottom line is if you are looking for places to cut cost we would advise that you don’t cut insecticide seed treatments in rice.

Redband found in Arkansas near Lake Chicot!

We started conducting our survey last week to see if we could find any redbanded stink bugs. We were sweeping white clover as the crimson clover hasn’t started blooming yet. Below is a picture of the one redband we found. We only found one but that’s certainly not a good sign.

This indicates that they did in fact overwinter here in Arkansas. Growers in the southern tier of counties should prepare accordingly, particularly on late-planted soybeans.

Soybean Insecticide Seed Treatments

Similar to other row crops, soybean insecticide seed treatments play a vital role in getting the crop off to a good start. This is not a budget cutter item in our opinion. We have seen several cases the last few years where growers left them off to cut costs only to end up spending more to replant, whether it was grape colaspis, wireworms, or other pests. All of the labeled products do a good job of protection.

If we can help, don’t hesitate to call. Good luck on getting off to a good start on this new cropping season.